


Meet Me At The Sweet Shop

by GoldenTruth813



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-12
Updated: 2015-12-12
Packaged: 2018-05-01 13:02:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5206886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenTruth813/pseuds/GoldenTruth813
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry's life is turned upside down when he discovers Draco Malfoy working at a muggle sweet shop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Meet Me At The Sweet Shop

"Please, Harry, can we go in here? Please?!" Teddy begs, already dragging Harry towards the shop entrance.

"I dunno, do you know anyone who likes sweets?" Harry asks with a straight face, trying not to laugh at the scandalized look on Teddy's face.

"I do! I do!" He shouts, nearly pulling Harry over with his enthusiasm, and finally succeeding in dragging Harry through the open door.

Harry pauses in the doorway, momentarily taken back by the inside of the beautiful shop. Despite the fact that it is a muggle sweet shop, something about it feels almost almost magical and almost reminds Harry of the first time he entered Honeydukes. There are tables and tables piled high with loads of homemade and imported sweets in brightly colored packages while the walls are lined up with bins and bins of sweets you can buy by the scoop. He turns towards the front of the store and walks over to the glass case marveling at the rows upon rows of perfectly lined up macaroons and truffles and brightly colored sweets in all favors, and noticing with a small smile that there are even tiny ones in the shape of Christmas Trees and Santas.

He is so enamored with the multitude of sweets that it takes him a few minutes of wandering, and trying not to let Teddy choose everything in sight, to notice that the employees are all wearing an old fashioned sort of uniform, with a bow tie, a funny straw hat with a striped ribbon around it and even a striped apron. Harry can't help but think that this is exactly the sort of place he would've given everything as a child to have come into when he hears an all too familiar voice from behind him say "Any samples today, Sir?"

Harry turns around so quickly his elbow catches on the nearest table knocking over a rather lovely display of handspan candy canes, and it is only the other mans sharp reflexes that prevent a rather monumental mess of ruined sweets.

"Thanks," Harry says awkwardly.

"Careful there. Bit over excited are we?" Malfoy says in a rather teasing tone and Harry wonders if he looks quite as gobsmacked as he feels.

Malfoy. Draco Malfoy, working in a muggle sweet shop and wearing a bow tie and a funny little hat. A man Harry hasn't seen or heard of in over six years. He feels quite certain he might actually die of shock.

The next few seconds tick by with deafening silence as both men continue to simply stare at each other, neither blinking or moving. Harry has only a moment to wonder why on earth Malfoy is working in a muggle sweet shop in London and whether or not there is anything he could say that would make him feel less stupid when Malfoy arches one elegant eyebrow at him before reaching out to grab Harry's hand and turning it over, depositing a small unwrapped chocolate in the palm of his hand.

"Put that in your mouth and chew. At least that way you might remember how to close your mouth, Potter."

And before Harry can say anything, though he has no idea what he might have said, Malfoy is walking away from him already smiling at the next customer who walks through the door, an elderly lady in a ridiculously fluffy coat with an oversized hat, and offering her a sample of chocolate as well. Harry feels so surprised by the other mans appearance that it isn't until Teddy is shaking his arm and asking if they can pay that he realizes he is definitely still staring.

"Right, sorry, let's go pay shall we?"

Fifteen minutes later, when Harry and Teddy are finally back out on the street, weighed down with far more sweets than was probably wise and with the cold air blowing across his cheeks, Harry reaches into his pocket and pulls out the small piece of chocolate. It's a bit squashed now, and just starting to melt on his fingertips from the warmth of his skin, but he brings it up to his mouth and pops it in, relishing in the mix of dark chocolate which isn't too sweet mixed with a hint of something that Harry thinks must be peppermint, and for the first he can ever remember Harry can't stop the smile that spreads across his face when he thinks of Malfoy.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Try as he might Harry finds himself unable to stop thinking about the other man. He thinks about him when he makes his tea and as he reads his paper in the mornings, wondering why he hasn't seen mention of the other man in the Daily Prophet for years if he's just in London. He thinks about him as he eats too many chocolate digestives in front of the fire late at night, listening to Christmas Carols and wondering if he has anyone to celebrate with. He thinks about him as goes into work, wondering why, if his file was finally closed no one ever bothered to tell him about it. He thinks about him as he showers, wondering when all his gangly, sharp angles had turned into something Harry found so attractive.

It doesn't really matter what he is wondering though, he fact is that not for the first time in his life does Harry feel himself once again becoming rapidly obsessed with the comings and goings of Malfoy.

Truth be told, if Harry is awake he is thinking about him. Which is exactly why, a week later, Harry finds himself standing outside the sweet shop, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his wool coat and his face pressed against the pained glass window as he peers inside trying to determine whether the other man is working or not.

He is so focused on staring through the shop window that he doesn't hear the gentle chime of a bell ringing as the door is opened, nor does he notice a familiar head of blonde hair walking towards him.

"Planning on coming in and buying something or were you just going to gape at me through the window all day like we're at the zoo?"

"Er, I was just looking."

"Oh do come inside, Potter!" Malfoy all but shouts, and Harry can't help but notice his tone lacks a certain bite. He ducks his head in embarrassment at being caught, shimmying in through the door which is oddly still being held open for him. Once inside, the warmth of the shop seems to seep through to his chilled bones and he finally removes his hands from his pockets, rubbing them together and blowing hot air on them to try and warm them up.

"It is impolite to stare you know."

"I wasn't staring."

"Potter there are nose prints on the glass window, which I might add I will have to clean later. By hand. You were most certainly staring. Now what do you want? Truffles? Some Macaroons? Some more of those horrible jelly sweets you bought bags of last week."

"Those were for my godson actually. But....you noticed what I bought?" Harry asks, unable to hide his surprise since Malfoy was not the one who had served them.

"You are missing the point entirely, Potter."

"Am I? I was sort of thinking the point was you were watching me," Harry says, only mildly surprised by his own boldness.

"Yes well you're impossible to ignore. Very loud. Knocking things over and causing messes wherever you go. You're like a bull in a tea room."

Harry isn't sure why but it makes him laugh. Draco looks equally confused, taking a step back and reaching for a large open bowl of sweets on the counter.

"Have some chocolate, Potter. I think you were out too long in the cold it's clearly addled your brain."

Harry doesn't hesitate, reaching out with his palm help up and watching as Draco carefully deposits two small pieces of chocolate into his hand, unable to deny the tiny thrill of pleasure he feels when Draco's warm fingertips brush across the palm of his hand.

"So, why do you work in a sweet shop?" Harry asked, deciding there is no point in beating around the bush.

"Good lord always so nosy! Eat your chocolate, Potter."

Harry wants to ask him more, but the bell rings and a rather large group of giggling teenage girls comes in. It does not escape Harry's notice that they all keep whispering and pointing at Malfoy who Harry notices with a twinge of displeasure seems to relish in the attention handing out samples and flirting as if Harry wasn't standing there watching.

This time when he leaves, it is with the taste of milky chocolate with a hint of orange still on his tongue. It is impossibly sweet so he is unsure why it leaves him frowning.

 

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

 

The next time Harry only makes it four days before he finds himself standing outside of the Sweet Shop, his hand heavy on the doorknob as he turns it slowly and makes his way inside. It is particularly crowded today and Harry thinks he should've realized it would be, with only two weeks left until Christmas. The shop is full of people loaded down with overflowing shopping bags, all chatting loudly and excitedly and grabbing sweets off the shelves as if afraid they might disappear. He'd once thought nothing could rival the crowds at Honeydukes near Christmas but perhaps a love of sweets is universal.

To make matters even worse he doesn't see Malfoy anywhere. He squeezes his way through the shop, ending up towards the back near a display of fancy looking chocolate bars. He reaches out, grabbing one and turning it over in his hand desperate for something to busy himself with so he doesn't look as out of place as he feels when he feels someone's hard, warm chest bring pressed up against his back.

"Oh, do you like things hot, Potter?"

Harry jumps, feeling warm breath against his ear and he is immensely glad for the counter in front of him as he leans against trying to calm his racing heart.

"Hot?" He asks, embarrassed by the squeak in his voice.

"The chocolate. In your hand," Draco says slowly, and this time Harry can hear the amusement in his voice as Draco's arm comes up and slides over his shoulder, purposely resting against his own arm as Draco taps the front of the chocolate bar and Harry notices for the first time the giant picture of a chili pepper on it.

"Oh yuck! No wonder no one wants to buy this," Harry says, shoving the chocolate bar back onto the still full display and turning around quickly.

What he isn't prepared for is the fact that the store is so crowded that Draco won't move when Harry turns, and instead, they are pressed chest to chest with Harry's back digging into the counter behind him as Draco presses their bodies even closer together to allow other customers to pass by them.

"Bit too hot for you then, Potter?" Draco asks, his eyes just inches from Harry's, the fronts of their thighs pressed together snuggly, and their fingertips dangling next to each other. It doesn't take Harry long to realize that if he moved his head forward just a tiny bit their lips would be pressed together too. He wonders how many sweets Draco eats working here and if he would still be able to taste them on his tongue.

"Chili is not meant to be in chocolate," he answers, his voice quiet despite the noise in the shop.

"It's delicious though. Unexpected. Don't you ever want something with a kick? Don't you ever want something different? You'd be surprised the way the spice compliments all the sugar, and you'll like the heat too, it's such a sharp contrast to the monotonous sweetness of chocolate. It's something you didn't think would fit into your life but when you try it, it just works."

"It's just chocolate," Harry says, somehow suspecting that it really isn't.

Draco doesn't say anything to that, just leans forward pressing his body so tightly against Harry's that Draco's smart bow tie brushes up against his neck and his hat gently presses into his forehead as Draco reaches behind him to grab one of the sweets from behind him. Without a word, he pulls back, and Harry watches mesmerized as his long fingers deftly undo the shiny wrapper and he breaks off a piece of chocolate holding it out towards Harry's mouth.

"Er, won't you get in trouble for that?" Harry asks stupidly, mentally kicking himself for ruining the moment. Draco doesn't look even the least bit bothered though, in fact it almost looks like he is fighting back a smile.

"Please don't tell me you've decided to start worrying about rules now, Potter?"

The way his name sounds coming out of Malfoy's mouth sends a rush of pleasure down his spine, and while he can't say it's something he would have ever expected, he finds he is somehow not at all surprised or bothered by the strange turn of events. And somehow it doesn't seem odd to be standing so close to Malfoy in a muggle sweet shop, the heat of Malfoy's body pressed against his and his head spinning as Christmas carols play softly in the background.

Deciding that he has never been a coward and today isn't a good day to begin, Harry darts his head forward, opening his mouth and not so accidentally letting his tongue lick the tips of Draco's fingers as he pulls the piece of chocolate into his mouth.

His gut reaction is to spit it back out, to groan that chili does not belong in chocolate, but as it slowly melts in his mouth he finds that while the combination is wholly unexpected it's not nearly as unpleasant as he first expected once he lets go of his preconceived notions of what chocolate is supposed to taste like.

"Well?" Draco asks smoothly.

"I think maybe I like the unexpected," Harry answers, darting his tongue out to lick his lips and noticing with another shock of pleasure that Draco's eyes are trained on his mouth.

When he leaves the sweet shop that day, he can't help but wonder what other unexpected things he might enjoy. And that night as he falls asleep he dreams of the taste of chocolate on Malfoy's lip.

 

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

 

"Back for more, Potter?"

"Maybe I want to try something else."

"Try something else? Did that chili chocolate awaken something in you then? Make you realize your life was missing something and you decided to come back in here and see if you could find it?"

Harry just blinks, watching in amazement as the other man stalks towards him and he thinks only Malfoy could make a striped apron and bow tie look both menacing and somehow utterly posh. He wonders if Malfoy's sleeves were rolled up like that before, because he thinks he might've remembered the flex of muscles in his forearms as he clenched his fingers, if they had been.

"It's just chocolate," Harry hears himself saying, and he can't help but wonder why that same stupid sentence seems to keep coming out of his mouth.

"Of course it isn't just chocolate, Potter." And he's so close now, has Harry backing up against the display counter at the front. Draco doesn't hesitate, just places his hands on Harry's shoulders and turns him around until Harry is leaning against the display counter with Malfoy pressed up behind him.

He wonders where the hell all the other customers are today but finds he is grateful just the same. He thinks all the old ladies in crazy hats and coats might not be so keen to buy the sweets if they could see Harry nearly panting with his erection shoved against the display case.

"It's more than just sweets," Malfoy says again, and he moves to place one hand on both sides of the glass counter effectively trapping Harry there, not that he had any intentions of moving. "It's about what people crave, what they desire, what they need. What do you need, Potter."

Draco's voice is so low, he seems to be whispering into Harry's ear and he's pressed so tightly to Harry's back that he can feel the other man's bow tie brushing up at the hair that curls at the back of his neck.

That day when Harry leaves it is with a rather large box of fancy sweets. Well, that a raging hard-on.

 

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

 

The next week turns out particularly busy for Harry who thinks that perhaps everyone has lost their minds with the impending holiday. He can't help but think that if he is sent out to fix one more mistletoe charm gone wrong or deal with one more miscast hex because someone bought the last something or other that someone else wanted to buy first he might just quit his job.

The only thing that manages to get him through his week is the stash of strangely flavored chocolates Malfoy somehow convinced him to buy. He keeps the beautiful gold box tucked away in the top of his desk drawer, and thinks about while he's out dealing with dark wizards and crazed holiday shoppers (wondering belatedly which one is worse).

And at the end of each day when he's finishing up his paperwork, he takes it out, reverently prying off the lid and peeling back the shiny silver paper to reveal rows upon rows of different colored sweets. He finds he likes some of them far more than others, and a few are downright horrible, and yet trying each new one gives him a tiny thrill of excitement that he thinks is not entirely to do with the sweets themselves.

At the end of the week, but the time he eats the last chocolate in the box, he thinks he's quite done trying new things.

Harry is quite sure he knows exactly what he likes, and more importantly what he wants.

 

***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

 

It takes Harry a few more days to work up his nerve, but by the time he finally does he realizes that it is in fact already Christmas Eve, which he supposes is not exactly the best time to try and get Malfoy's attention. As expected, when he pushes open the door of the sweet shop that day he is met with so many people he isn't even sure there is room for him.

Despite the crowds he makes his way inside, shuffling along the side wall towards the back until he spots Malfoy somewhere near the center of the shop. He seems to be helping a rather eccentric looking older lady choose a box of truffles. It takes him a few minutes but Harry finally managed to weave his way discreetly through the crowds and makes his way towards Malfoy, sliding up next to him just as the elderly woman heads towards the front register to be served.

"Back again, Potter? Still can't figure out what you like then?" The beginnings of a smirk spread across his face.

"Oh no. I think I know exactly what I like now," Harry says, feeling oddly confident all of the sudden.

Malfoy actually does smile at that, the first real smile Harry has seen on his face since he started coming in weeks ago, and he thinks it might be one of the sweetest things he's ever seen, far sweeter than anything he could buy in the shop.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do. I'll meet you outside at five," he says quite matter of factory as if it is not a question.

"Meet you at five? Whatever for?" Draco asks another smile pulling at his lips and Harry finds that he isn't surprised that Draco is going to make him work for it.

"A date."

"A date? With you? And what makes you think I want to go on a date with you?"

Harry feels his confidence falter momentarily, suddenly unsure if perhaps the flirting had been just that for Draco, when he hears Draco saying "at six."

"What's that?" He asks, dragging his eyes away from Malfoy's forearms and back up to his face, somehow unable to look away from the way his adams apple bobs beneath the starched, buttoned-up collar of his shirt and snuggly tied bow tie, and finding himself mesmerized by the softest tinge of pink rising up Draco's neck. He wonders if he blushes all over.

"I said you can pick me up at six. And do put on a nicer pair of trousers and something besides those old trainers. If you're taking me to an expensive restaurant you cannot wear that. Now shoo before you scare off the paying customers."

Harry can't stop the smile that spreads across his face, especially when Malfoy places several more chocolates in his hand and whispers "That's not the only new thing you'll be tasting today," before hurrying off to help the hoards of frantic shoppers bustling around the busy shop.

Later that evening, at precisely six o'clock, Harry finds himself waiting outside the front of the sweet shop. The door is locked, and the lights are off, and he wonders with a frown exactly where he's supposed to meet Malfoy when he feels a soft tapping on his shoulder and turns to see him standing before him.

He looks different without his uniform, or perhaps less different, and more like the Malfoy Harry remembers from school. He's dressed sharply in a well-tailored suit in rich blue, with a rather elaborate looking waistcoat with far too many buttons that only leaves Harry wondering how long it might take him to undo them all later.

"I see this staring thing is a habit of yours, Potter. Any other habits I ought to know about?"

Harry feels himself smiling, something he seems to be doing a lot of lately. "Yeah, I seem to have developed an insatiable appetite for something sweet and unexpected lately. Know anyone who might be able to help me with that?"

"I might," Draco answers softly, stepping closer towards Harry who takes his own step forward to close the distance between them and without even thinking about it he finds himself reaching out and placing his hands on the other man's waist, pulling him against his own chest and pressing their mouths together. He thinks it might be him that whimpers when Draco opens his mouth willingly, his own tongue teasing along Harry's bottom lip before Draco sucking it into his own mouth. And gods but Draco taste just even better than he'd imagined and Harry swears it's not his imagination, that Draco taste like chocolate and treacle, and this time it's definitely Malfoy that moans as Harry's hands roam down the other mans back to rest on his arse as he sucks Malfoy's tongue into his mouth, shoving him back against the wall and almost rotting against him feeling the overwhelming desperate need to taste and touch as much as possible.

"Potter....potter. Fuck, Potter, it's snowing," Draco groans out, his head thrown back and his right leg wrapped around Harry's, and his own hands securely placed underneath the hem of Harry's jumper teasingly sliding beneath the waistband of his trousers.

Harry pulls back, tilting his head up and blinking as a pile of tiny snowflakes begin to form on his glasses.

"Come on," Draco says, and Harry groans in disappointment when Draco's warm body pulls away from his own.

"Where are we going?" He says, wondering why he's bothering to ask because he knows he'd go almost anywhere with him right now.

"You'll see," Malfoy says, holding out his hand towards Harry. "Trust me."

Harry simply stares at the outstretched hand for a moment, reminded so strongly of the first time Malfoy had held out his hand and he'd refused him. A million thoughts filter through his mind; questions about his disappearance, how he ended up in London, why he's working at a Muggle sweet shop, or why he seems to want Harry just as much as Harry wants him.

And yet as he stares at the man in front of him he finds the questions suddenly seem as meaningless in that moment as the answers. What matters is that they want this. They both want this.

"Ok," Harry says, delighting in the look of surprise and pleasure that crosses Malfoy's face as Harry slips his hand in his.

Harry thinks that perhaps after a lifetime of trying to understand why maybe just this once he can take a chance at a bit of happiness and leave all the rest for later.


End file.
